Here And Now

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Albany with no public schedule.

At 9:30 a.m., former general counsel of the US Defense Department Jeh Johnson, speaks about “A ‘Drone Court’: The Pros and Cons” at Fordham University law school’s Center on National Security; James McNally Amphitheater, 140 W. 62nd St., Manhattan.

At 10 a.m., Sens. Adriano Espaillat and Jose Peralta, 32BJ President Hector J. Figueroa and Latino advocates call for the NYC Council to vote on the paid sick leave proposals; City Hall, Manhattan.

Also at 10 a.m., Sen. Greg Ball and Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor host a bipartisan press conference to propose tuition reductions for servicemen and women attending SUNY and CUNY schools who are facing the suspension of their tuition assistance from the military due to the sequester. LCA Room (130), LOB, Albany.

Also at noon, lawmakers and advocates will attend a news conference on the 50th anniversary of Gideon v. Wainwright and call for “systemic reform of state’s failed public defense system.” LCA Press Room (130), LOB, Albany.

From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. NYC mayoral candidate/Comptroller John Liu, holds one in a series of “town hall” meetings about the NYPD’s “stop and frisk” searches and public safety concerns; Latino Pastoral Action Center Inc., 14 W. 170th St., Bronx.

(Added by special request): From 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., IDC leader Jeff Klein holds his annual St. Patrick’s Day “O’Klein” fund-raiser at the Fort Orange Club, Albany.

Headlines…

After staffers worked through a weekend that was capped off by a marathon leaders meeting last night, the governor and legislative leaders still have no budget deal.

The governor issued a public schedule saying he was to be in the “New York City area” on Sunday, but sources said budget talks were held with Cuomo at the Capitol late yesterday morning.

Last night’s discussions included talk of a “training wage” as part of the minimum wage piece of the budget, which is still in play. (Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos called it a “youth wage.”

Sources tell Tom Precious issues involving the minimum wage, tax breaks for middle-class families and small businesses, and Cuomo’s proposal to relax marijuana-possession laws are among the final major issues the sides are wrestling with.

Leaders of the Assembly and Senate want jockeys who regularly ride on New York’s thoroughbred tracks to get a cut of the extra purse money generated by VLT gambling. Some $2 million a year would go to a jockeys’ guild in Kentucky.

When State Superintendent Joe D’Amico was hired, Cuomo touted that he had foregone a 211 waiver, enabling him to collect both a salary and his pension. But Cuomo has since granted the waiver due to D’Amico’s claim it was “financially impossible” for him to keep working that way.

The NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, widely credited as an important factor in the citywide drop in crime during the Bloomberg administration, will face its biggest constitutional test in a federal trial beginning today.

Quinn is reportedly strongly considering backing legislation aimed at reining in the NYPD’s use of stop-and-frisk – a move that will surely not sit well with Bloomberg.

Staten Island DA Dan Donovan is under fire for his secretive approach in two high-profile political cases: Assemblyman Vito Lopez’s sexual harassment scandal and the probe into the WFP’s actions in 2009.

Comptroller John Liu launched his campaign for NYC mayor on Sunday with promises of a populist administration and attacks on Mayor Bloomberg’s legacy.

Chris Smith on the ethnic politics at play in the NYC mayor’s race: “t’s better for (Chris) Quinn if Liu stays in the race, because he’ll siphon some minority votes from (Bill) Thompson…but Liu staying in the race makes it tougher for Quinn to hit the magic 40 percent mark that would allow her to avoid a Democratic runoff.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly, in a series of letters sent to Cuomo and legislative leaders last week, argued that using cameras to catch speeders would improve public safety and reduce traffic injuries.

More on Sen. Cathy Young’s STAR property tax exemption that she improperly received on a North Greenbush condo: She signed and cashed a rebate check six years ago even though she claims she only recently learned of this error and corrected it.

Sen. Charles Schumer is calling on the cruise ship industry to adopt a “bill of rights” to guarantee passengers certain protections while aboard their ships.

The controversy over the record number of homeless NYC families has obscured the fact that the state and city have saved millions on housing the burgeoning ranks of parents and children seeking shelter because of an increase in federal funding.

Ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner is supposedly still mad at House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi for saying he should resign during his sexting scandal, and plans to get revenge once “Hillary is president.”

Moreland Act Director and former state Senate candidate Regina Calcaterra has penned a harrowing personal memoir, “Etched in Sand: A True Story of Five Siblings Who Survived an Unspeakable Childhood on Long Island,” which is for release in August from HarperCollins.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld celebrated his return to Back Bay and dinged Bloomberg (calling him a “quack”) in song during a St. Patrick’s Day breakfast.

This entry was posted by Liz Benjamin on March 18, 2013 at 6:24 am, and is filed under Uncategorized. Follow any responses to this post through RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

BusterBrown

[Last night’s discussions included talk of a “training wage” as part of the minimum wage piece of the budget, which is still in play. Senate GOP Leader Dean Skelos called it a “youth wage.]

Minimum wage jobs are entry level jobs . By definition, they require little or no experience to be hired and don’t entail any significant on-the-job training. So, there’s no point in having a “training wage” or “youth wage” or whatever euphemism you like…except to screw someone for the benefit of the (so called) job creators in NYS.

Picture a 30 year old and a seventeen year both of whom who get hired by CVS. Neither has any experience running a cash register and it takes a week or less to learn. The two new workers are standing side by side at their respective cash registers ringing up sales. Yet, the adult gets paid more for doing the EXACT same job. Why? Sounds like discrimination to me. Skelos will make it up to the teen, however. If she gets pregnant, drops out of school and goes on welfare, Dean will give her a bigger child tax credit!

Maintain a SINGLE minimum wage and raise it to $9. Kmart and McDonalds will be just fine. They can’t send their shitty retail jobs overseas. Good.

sik-of-it

I think you are missing the point. From an employers perspective, I seldom find very few young people to have any form of work ethic.

Generally speaking, people that have been in the workforce for some time have learned to either adopt a good work ethic or if not, sign up for welfare because it is easier. In your example they are running a register and there are still many subtle actions the cashier can take to help a customer along. These things are learned through time and experience and knowing how you would want to be treated as a customer, not by a trainer standing over your shoulder.

I think the higher wage helps an immediate issue for those looking for work that pays enough to survive, while the training wage still keeps the proverbial carrot in front of the younger people to aspire to something better.